Scooter Store Bankruptcy Sale Delayed

posted by Jim Forsyth
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3 years ago

The scheduled auction of the remaining assets of the bankrupt Scooter Store, which had been set for today, has been pushed back to September, 1200 WOAI news reports.

New Braunfels Mayor Gale Pospisil is not pleased that the auction has been delayed, because that will delay any efforts by her city staffers to find tenants in the company’s leased building.

"There is a company looking at it that is a call center which would provide some opportunities for those who have been laid off," Pospisil said.

When it filed for bankruptcy, the Scooter Store, which once employed more than 1600 people, says it hopes to stay in operation as a much smaller entity, employing no more than 300 people. In its petition, the Scooter Store listed assets of less than $10 million, and debts of more than $50 million.

The company has said that changes in Medicare billing practices has been one of the issues that led to its problems.

It is not entirely certain what assets the Scooter Store has that would be of value at a bankruptcy auction. Potentially patents, trademarks, and even the company's name could be sold, but it does not own the building.

Pospisil says any more delays will lead to problems bringing the jobs that were lost when the Scooter Store downsized in April back to New Braunfels.

"A couple have come back more than once," she said. "Not just to fill up the buildings, but provide additional employment."

Scooter Store executives have said that the goal of the bankruptcy filing is to create a 'new, financially healthy' company.